Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Machu Picchu arboreal chinchilla rat

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Kingdom
  
Order
  
Family
  
Abrocomidae

Scientific name
  
Cuscomys oblativus

Rank
  
Species

Phylum
  
Chordata

Suborder
  
Hystricomorpha

Genus
  
Cuscomys

Higher classification
  
Machu Picchu arboreal chinchilla rat s3amazonawscommongabayimages140925newspecie

Similar
  
Mammal, Rodent, Chinchilla rat, Abrocoma, Bolivian chinchilla rat

The Machu Picchu arboreal chinchilla rat, (Cuscomys oblativus), is a large species of South American chinchilla rats, known from skeletal remains found by members of the Peruvian Expedition of 1912. The animals were buried alongside people in ancient Inca tombs at Machu Picchu in Peru. It was considered extinct by the IUCN in 2008, but conservation status was changed to data deficient in 2016. Photos of a rodent taken at Machu Picchu in late 2009 likely show this species, a finding apparently confirmed in 2014.

Originally assigned to the genus Abrocoma, recent studies showed it to be more closely allied to Cuscomys ashaninka, a species unknown to science until 1999.

References

Machu Picchu arboreal chinchilla rat Wikipedia